The Sophomore Ohio State QB had a phenomenal 2018 campaign, but will only 20-Plus games of experience be worth the risk for the Cincinnati Bengals?
It’s no secret that Dwayne Haskins took over the reins in Columbus and made himself a force to be reckoned with in the college football universe. 4,800 yards on the season, a completion percentage just shy of 70%, 50 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions (Source: CBS Sports) would have pretty much any scout salivating. And with Andy Dalton being the living embodiment of Cincinnati sports (has moments of greatness, but doesn’t really show up when it matters), it would be easy to say, “Maybe it’s time to give up on the Andy Dalton experiment.” It’s easy to think that, but is it worth the risk?
The Chicago Bears took the risk in 2017 when they drafted Mitch Trubisky 2nd overall out of North Carolina. Relatively unproven in his time in Chapel Hill, that draft pick dropped a lot of jaws when a QB with that little experience was drafted so highly. When you draft a player of that position that highly, it is meant to be your franchise player-someone you can build a team around. Are you really going to put all your money on a guy that only had one real season as a starter in college?
Well, they did, and for the most part, that pick seemed to have paid dividends in 2018 (sorry Chicago, I don’t think Trubisky can kick field goals, but he probably wouldn’t have double-doinked it if that makes you feel any better). Since it worked for Chicago, should the Cincinnati Bengals follow suit and go all in on Haskins on the off-chance he drops to the Bengals? Better yet, is the Andy Dalton experiment so far gone that Cincinnati should trade up to take the risk as Chicago did?
It worked out for Chicago. Who’s to say it couldn’t work out for Cincinnati?
Want to read more about Cincinnati’s offseason? Check out some of our other great articles on Stripe Hype!
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